I am answering questions now on computer programmer careers again and if you post yours on: [Ask IT Career Coach], I will answer it for you, just like I am answering this question on “how to find jobs for beginner or entry level computer programmers“.

How To Get An Entry Level Computer Programming Job

Dear Mr. Tagbo,

Now that the spring has finally arrived, I am ready to search for programming jobs available for college students.

So far I have mastered the fundamental concepts of programming such as function: Subprocedures, Arrays, and Classes.

I feel competent enough to pursue a career in Programming as well as Mathematics.

How To Find Computer Programmer Jobs

Start your programmer job search by looking on Dice.Com which is a fast and reliable job search engine for computer programmers.

You can search for jobs within specific miles of your zip code or search for web application developer jobs in specific programming languages like Java, C#, VB.NET, PHP, etc.

I also suggest that you customize your resume with mentions of all the technical concepts or skills that you’ve used in your work as a computer programmer.

After you get your resume to match current job postings, contact a lot of employers because getting hired is a numbers game and the more employers you contact, the quicker you will be able to get a job.

At your job interview, look at your audience and then customize your conversation to their needs because business managers, CEOS or project managers do not share the concerns that software development managers, software architects and computer programmers interviewing you have.

Here are some tips that will help you in a technical computer programming interview:

Business Line managers want to hire computer programmers who can solve business problems.

So when you interview with business folks, focus your conversations on your ability to solve business problems or complete tasks and projects important to the business.

Here are some tips on how to interview with non-technical business managers:

How To Interview With Non-Technical Business Users

Talk about your ability to perform the tasks involved in creating a website like designing the website in Photoshop, converting it to CSS and writing all the database and backend programming code.

Do not talk about the lower level details of a programming language like its object oriented features.

Talk about your ability to code quickly or correctly without mistakes and finish your tasks on time.

Do not talk about programming concepts like arrays, subroutines, functions, methods, properties or talk in ways that that non-technical business users will find hard to follow or understand.

Talk about your ability to code fast under pressure or to develop semantically correct websites or convert Photoshop PSD files to CSS or perform any of the programming tasks you are assigned reliably.

Show or demonstrate the websites that you created and why the features or design of these websites are important from a business point of view.

How To Interview With Technical Managers Or Computer Programmers

If you are interviewing with a software developer or technical manager, then do everything that you need to do to convince them of your technical ability.

In this context, it is okay to discuss the latest technical / computer programming concepts.

Here are some tips on how to interview with technical managers, software architects, computer programmers, etc.:

Show or demonstrate the websites that you created and how the features or design of these websites were created from a technical standpoint.

Talk about the cool features you’ve created and how you used CSS, jQuery, JavaScript, ASP.NET, C# or any programming technology to achieve that!

On a final note don’t use the “I am a student, give me a job” approach with employers.

Whether you are a college student, a high school student, a recent computer science graduate or a beginner programmer you need to solve real world programming problems and demonstrate practical web, windows or mobile applications regardless of your designation.

See, what makes you a computer programmer is not your educational qualifications but the complexity, scope and number of real-world web, windows or mobile applications that you’ve created.

This post is part of a series of answers to questions sent in by software developers.

If you have a question about your programmer career, click here to post it and I will answer it just like I’ve answered this computer science student’s question!

Mr. Tagbo, after acquiring all the skill sets in Database Development and SQL Server though Hands-on Training, consistent practise and the confidence in performance, how should I launch my career in the industry, that is, should I approach the industry at an entry level position and acquire a working experience approach or freelance and then become a consultant.

The questions which you have to answer before looking for a database jib is … “What Kind Of Business Problems Can I Solve”?

Your solutions have to matter to the Business because they are the folks that pay everyone’s bills. So, don’t just focus on the Technology Problems that you can solve, tie them to Business Problems.

Back when MS Access was popular, you could find a lot of MS Access database jobs because MS Access allowed you to build Data Entry Forms, Reporting Solutions and a Relational Database.

So, even though you were a Database Developer, you sill built a Reporting Solution and a GUI.

This mattered because when a Database Developer or a Data Analyst was hired it was because there was a need to collect and store data. Because MS Access Database Developers could also build those Data Collection / Data – Entry Forms, their solutions were tired to business problems.

For example, if the Organization needed to build a Surveying Tool that allowed salespeople to interview prospects and record their answers, a MS Access Database Developer could be hired to provide 100% of that solution.

Now, a Web Designer / Web Developer may be hired to design and develop those Web Forms and they may even go ahead and build
the accompanying Relational Databases.

So, you find out that while Web Designers & Web Developers are now performing the Relational Database Tasks traditionally assigned to Database Developers, many Database Developers are not expanding their own skills or career options … they are only interested in building database jobs.

So, you may want to think about this.

You can also do the following to acquire working experience:

1. Search on Freelance Websites for Database Jobs

2. Volunteer at Schools / Non-Profit Agencies for Database Jobs

3. Start a Website / Blog focused on building and distributing Databases. Build Databases for different industries and give them away for free

4 Focus on one industry that has challenging database needs like the Medical / Healthcare Industry. Research the business problems facing that industry and then build a robust database that solves the needs of most of the clients in that industry .

I would like to recieve a job in Osage Beach Missouri in Computer Software.

I have no college degree but attended a vo-tech school in high school, an received a certificate in Dream Weaver CS4, and Weeb development, an am quite knowledgeable in computer Networking as well, which I took in High School.